Business Day (Johannesburg)
Mninawa Ntloko
9 July 2009
Johannesburg — AFTER receiving advice from President Jacob Zuma on how to deal with criticism, much-vilified Bafana Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena says he has lost very little sleep over the stinging words that many have directed at him in the aftermath of the Confederations Cup.
Mokoena said yesterday he had developed a thick skin after his chat with Zuma and was not bothered by those who maintained that he was no longer fit to be captain.
"President JZ (Zuma) told me that as a leader of this team, I had to be tough," he said yesterday.
"He said there would always be people who would be with me, and there would be those against me. He said I had to remain strong despite the criticism and continue to serve this team to the best of my ability.
"That really inspired me and I take all this criticism as part of the challenges that come with this position. I grew up under difficult circumstances and yet I managed to succeed."
After Bafana's fourth-place finish in the Confederations Cup last month, the critics emerged with sharpened knives and called for the 90-cap veteran to either be stripped of the captaincy, or dropped from the national team altogether.
So incensed was his TV presenter namesake, Walter Mokoena, that he was suspended by the SABC after demanding that coach Joel Natalino Santana and his captain be dumped from the team immediately.
"I always tell myself not to take any of the things that are said about me personally. I have actually grown and learnt something from the criticism.
"Even when people say the harshest things about me, I try by all means not to be discouraged. I have got friends and family who have been with me since the days before anyone knew who Aaron Mokoena was. They are my support structure and they have been with me through the difficult times.
"My upbringing played a role in the person I turned out to be and I like to think that I have had more positive criticism than negative over the years.
"I always knew that the Bafana jersey and the armband come with loads of pressure, and I wholly accept that."
Mokoena said he could not fault the equally vilified Santana and maintained that the team actually had a lot to be thankful for after the Confederations Cup.
"South Africans are very passionate about their sport but I am happy with our performance during the tournament. We could argue till the end of the week about the formation that the coach used in the tournament but the bottom line is he never told us to defend.
"The only thing that he stressed during the team talks was for us to keep our shape and organisation. I personally think that he was right to defend first before going forward."
Mokoena said while many argued that Bafana could have been an even better team with the dropped Benni McCarthy in the line-up, he did not necessarily agree.
"It was not a bad thing for us not to have Benni in the team. Other players managed to get a chance in his absence that perhaps we would not have known about.
"We would not be singing Katlego Mphela's praises, would we? We would not be talking about Bernard Parker. I am not saying that Benni should or should not be part of this team in the future. All I am saying is that the coach already knew what he can do and was able to see what other guys can also do.
"But should the technical staff elect to bring him back to the team, I am not in opposition to that idea."
Mokoena said he did not believe the team would be hindered by the failure to qualify for the African Nations Cup in Angola next year and the national team could still make up for the lack of competitive matches ahead of the World Cup with friendlies against stiff international opposition.
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